Name of drama: Being Human
Broadcaster/Scheduling Details: A British supernatural drama Television Series, broadcasted on BBC3.
Writer/Director/Producer: Toby Whithouse/Phil Trethowan/Mathew Bouch
Characters:
'Annie Sawyer' is played by Lenora Crichlow. She is a young woman who is also a ghost. After her death, she haunts the house in which she and her fiance lived in. She is in her mid-twenties, dark-skinned and pretty.
George Sands is played by Russel Tovey and is a young werewolf, also in his mid-twenties and Mitchell's best friend. Annie and George have a sibling-like relationship. He is less socially adept than Mitchell, but considerably more intellectual.
John Mitchell is played by Aiden Turner and is a 117 year old vampire, with the appearance of a young man in his twenties. He is tall, skinny, with long dark hair and stubble, and wears dark clothes (leather jackets, rings, fingerless gloves, etc.) to promote the stereotypical "bad boy" image.
Mise-en-scene:
Location: Their living room - small, close and personal and allows the viewer to understand their personal lives.
Costume: Annie and George are wearing casual clothes. George in a grey t-shirt and jeans, Annie in slightly more feminine clothes; vest-top and casual tracksuit bottoms with a ring on her finger. Mitchell in boots, black skin-tight jeans, black t-shirt and black leather jacket.
Colour design: Purposefully dark and bleak to reflect (especially in Annie's case) how they are not really alive and are trying really hard to 'Be Human.' They do not fit in with light; George and Mitchell (a werewolf and a vampire) are typically regarded as darkness.
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| Medium Long Shot (Shows her defensive body language) |
Sound/Key dialogue: In this scene, the room is in silence (even the TV is muted) until Mitchell enters and shuts the door. This, combined with the serious expression on Annie's face, creates a sombre atmosphere. Diagetic sound is used - (When Mitchell slams the door shut.) 'Why wasn't I invited?'
'Well, if you were ever here, then we would have invited you.' <--- This dialogue is used to build up the tension.
Voices start with quiet menace, but then progresses to a huge shouting match. Used to create comedy as Mitchell has JUST stated men do not involve themselves emotionally with anything or feel the need to express angst/anger/hurt etc. Then simply seconds after he is saying things such as: 'Could I not just have one good thing in my life? It drives me insane. I don't deserve this.' etc.
Music: No music is used.
Conventions
Nothing in this scene really indicates the genre of the TV show, apart from perhaps the dark lighting in the living room.
Icons:
This show has the potential to become iconic. The BBC runs repeats of the show, and new series are being made. 'Being Human' has successfully sold many boxsets, both in store and online.
Camera work
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| Head and Shoulders Shot |
The scene is shot by a hand-held camera, rather than a camera being placed on a tripod. This has the effect of making the recording more shaky and it chops around a bit from character to character, sometimes with a close-up on one of their faces (you can see their head and shoulders,) other times it zooms out and captures all three characters in the frame.
Industry
It has been promoted largely by the BBC. It's fanbase has spread quickly as the BBC has millions of viewers.
Audiences: It is a supernatural drama and has elements of horror/romance/comedy/fantasy and is therefore more appealing for a younger audience. However, with it's use of language, explicit scenes, and unhidden homophobia displayed by the character George, Being Human has a target audience of 16+ and this is why it always shows past nine o clock at night.
It is a unisexual TV show, and so aimed at both genders.
This show would not really shape an audience's point of view on many existing issues, seeing as it is a fantasy TV drama, however, it may be influential in the cases of some important issues or topics of controversy, such as forbidden love and homophobia.
